Portland Raiders
'General Information' The Portland Raiders play in Portland, Oregon in the rocking Moda Center. They enjoy one of the most devoted fanbases in the National Hockey Association, and were holders of the most reported sold out games of all the teams in not only the Pacific Division, but the Western conference in general. Even when the Raiders don't win the Pacific division, they keep a firm grasp of the top three ranks. This is supported by the Raiders having one of the strongest home records in the league, as many opposing players consider Moda Center an intimidating arena to play in, as the rabid Raider fans are never shy of making their presence known. Opposing arenas sometimes find themselves under invasion from the traveling Raiders fans who follow their team on the road. While the Raiders often enjoy regular season success, their postseason can range from miserable, to just not good enough. The Raiders have claimed four Western conference titles, but no National Cups. In their four combined cup appearances, they have only won three games. Their first two cup appearances saw series sweeps by the Charlotte Thunder and Cincinnati Eagles, respectively. The 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons saw the Raiders making back-to-back finals appearances against the Jacksonville Pirates, only to lose back-to-back as well. While opposing fanbases like to make fun of the Raiders for the habit of 'choking', analysts have pointed flaws in the discipline of the Raiders, whom have habits of dirty play and careless penalties that put their own team in the hole. The Raiders are indeed one of the most penalized teams in the league, with one of the lowest Penalty Kill teams to boot. Rivalries Cascadia Clash: Seattle Kraken ''' One of the most intense rivalries in the western conference, and the NHA as a whole, the Kraken-Raiders rivalry is perhaps the most exciting faceoff for casual observers of the NHA. Both teams house rabid fanbases, with Portland having some of the most devoted fans in the entire league. Both sides have been known to invade each arena, rocking their respective barns the entire night. There's no love lost between players on each team either. After a rather dirty hit from Kraken Defenseman Derek Greene to Raiders forward Bozik Radek, which saw a defenseless Radek being hit from behind after he released the puck, Raiders players absouletely laid into Greene, leading to a large scrum. Raider fans were livid as they threw debris onto the ice towards the Seattle bench. Radek hit the ice hard after the hit and found himself missing some game time after going to concussion protocal. The Raiders were disgusted by the play, with head coach Thomas Baker saying, "It's unbelieveable. No doubt in my mind it was intentional. Fucking absurd," after a heated post-game interview. Greene served a controversial two game suspension, with most fans feeling like Greene got off with a light punishment. At their first game in Portland after the incident, the Kraken found themselves met with a defeaning chorous of boos from the Raider faithful. It somehow got even louder when Derek Greene went to join the team during the warm ups. The crowd chanted various obscentities at Greene, such as "Fuck you, Greene!" and "Piece of shit!". Beside this incident, the teams met various times in the playoffs, with Seattle holding a slight edge. The Kraken found themselves on the receiving end of a sweep in one meeting. Game 4 in Seattle found the city swarmed with Portland fans, ready to see their team sweep their despised rivals. After a hard fought 4-2 victory for the Raiders, their fans took to hooligan behavior and vandalized nearby property. Afterwards, multiple brawls between fans broke out and arrests were handed out. A few seasons later the Kraken would get their revenge by beating the Raiders in a 6 game series. After the final buzzer of game 6 (final score 6-2) in Seattle, Kraken captain, and 1st star of the game (2 goals, 1 assist), Norwin Peters was met for a post-game interview on the ice. Knowing there are a couple hundred Raider fans in the stands and rembering the actions of some rowdy fan hooligans, said "To all you wearing a Raids sweater in the crowd... This is our city. Don't forget that." As he left the ice, he was met with a gigantic ovation from the Seattle fans who came out in droves. Not long after, these two teams met in the playoffs again, with Seattle once again driving a stake into the heart of the Raiders. The Kraken enjoyed an easier 5 game series victory. As the final buzzer sounded (final score 3-1), Norton Bishop skated by the dejected Raiders goalie, Chase Gilbert and said "Go back home, loser". In frustration Gilbert lobbed his stick at Bishop, hitting him in the knee. Bishop and Gilbert got into a shoving match after, which was broken up by several linesmen and players from both teams. As the tense handshake line commenced afterards, Kraken fans serenaded the arena with "This is our house!". This chant would go on to being a staple chant at home games against the Raiders. '''San Diego Cardinals: Probably the more 'lax' of the Raiders main rivals, the Cardinals are a constant thorn in the side of the Raiders. In the regular season, the Cardinals often duke it out with the Raiders for Pacific dominance. While these two teams are often evenly matched in the regular season, the Cardinals have knocked the Raiders out of the playoffs at least five times. On sporting forum sites, there was a running joke that made fun of Portland's failures against San Diego as follows, "Raiders guide to success: 1. Make playoffs 2. Make it to round 2 3. Lose to San Diego 4. ??? 5. Profit." . The Cardinals used to be the butt of the Raiders jokes, who would often invade San Diego in the Cardinals downtrodden years, often starting a chant of "Where's your fans?" in the less than sold out PetSmart Arena. But after the Cardinals would later go on to win three National Cups, the packed PetSmart Arena would taunt the visiting Raiders by chanting "Where's your cup?". Back when the Cardinals would have their home arena invaded by the opposing fans, a constant issue at the time, Raiders winger, Mike Kane was asked about the sea of green in the seats in San Diego and said, "It's gotta suck for Cardinals fans, seeing their arena taken over. It felt like a home game for us. We have some of the best fans in the league". Needless to say, his words were not taken lightly by Cardinals fans, and a couple seasons from then, the Cardinals would go on to enjoy their first National Cup, and Kane would later find himself chirped by Cardinals fans who would bring plastic rings and flash them at Kane, mocking him for having not won a cup yet. Jacksonville Pirates: This rivalry is more one sided, with the Pirates having cruised to easy victories against the Raiders in their back to back finals clashes against each other. In both these series' the Raiders have only a combined three wins. The 2011-12 finals saw the Raiders crushed by the Pirates, who sailed to a five game series win. The season after, the Raiders would squeak in an extra win, only to see their hopes dashed by a game 6 2OT loss. In one game between these teams in Portland after the Pirates claimed their cups, Jacksonville winger and top goal scorer, Markus Joki scored a goal and mocked the booing Raiders fans by making a motion of lifting the cup and kissing it, which further fueled the resentment fans felt toward the Pirates. Since then, the rivalry has since died down considerably, but Pirates fans are no stranger to mocking Raider fans simply by saying "2-0", a reference to Portland's failures against them. Notable Games/Series "Everybody's dropping the gloves, John!" January 3rd, 2014, versus the Seattle Kraken (Moda Center) ''' Often considered hockey Nirvana, the famous line brawl in a January 3rd faceoff with the Seattle Kraken is what everybody thinks when they imagine hockey. Literally as soon as the puck was dropped for the opening faceoff, every player on the ice on both teams dropped gloves and brawled, which obviously got the Moda Center buzzing for their game against their hated rival. It's unclear who started the line brawl or why, but whoever it was ended up in the penalty box. The words of TV commentator Jerry Jefferson was heavily quoted, with him crying out, "Everybody's dropping the gloves, John!". This game is considered a staple in the Cascadia Clash and the game people think of when these two teams are mentioned. '''Final Score- POR 5- SEA 3 Current Notable Players Neil Lee #72 (Center) From: Calgary, ALB, Canada ''' Neil Lee is one of the alternate captains of the Raiders and perhaps the most popular player on the team. Lee is the Raiders first option to get an early goal. In the 2018-19 season, he had a monster scoring season, with 30 goals, four of them winners in overtime. Lee is what many hockey analysts call a 'Overtime Quarterback', someone who can take charge in overtime and ultimately bring their team the victory. '''Thomas Caron #11 (Left Wing) From: Kamloops, BC, Canada Thomas Caron is the team joker and playmaker. With 34 assists in his last campaign, he's able to engineer scoring plays like nobody else. An odd-man break between Neil Lee and Thomas Caron is a goalie's worst nightmare. This was evidenced in a game between the Raiders and Baltimore Generals, when Caron and Neil got themselves a break towards the net. With only one defender to halt their attack, Caron put emphasis on his pass to Neil by faking a spin move and passing it to Neil, who fired a howitzer of a shot, beating Baltimore's goalie for the goal. Off the ice, Caron is known to play practical pranks on his teammates, such as the time where he filled defense man, Nate Philips car with popcorn. Retired Numbers #14 Uniforms ELsarymU4AIKkgv.jpg|Raider Alternate ELsWI NW4AEk6IV.jpg|Raider Away ELsVGEDUYAEs0Fe.jpg|Raider Home Traditions/Chants March to Moda: Prior to game time, typically an hour and a half before, Raider fans meet at fan-run pub and grill, Randy Raider's and enjoy brews and food before the game. After the festivities, the fans will often get together and make the two block walk to the arena. The Green Army booster club coined the concept in the 2008-09 season as a way to promote a pleasant and familial atmosphere. Booster Club Gatherings: '''True to their namesake, the Raiders have a fanbase that raid opposing arenas when their team is in town. The Green Army has chapters in most major cities and are happy to call together gatherings at local bars before seeing their team in an away setting. '''Calamari Night: At Randy Raider's and several other places that serve calamari on nights the Raiders and Kraken faceoff. Obviously mocking the mascot of Seattle, Raiders fans will gorge themselves on calamari before the game, and some establishments even offer special deals on calamari, should the Raiders pull away victorious. This tradition led to some controversy, as one Raider fan lobbed a frozen squid toward the Seattle net after a goal. "Beat Seattle!" Raiders fans will chant this in games against their hated Cascadia rival. It's not exactly known where this chant originated but many agree it was during the first playoff meeting between the two teams. "Raaaaaidersss!" The first thing many fans hear in their arena when the Green Army is in town, this chant is sure to make many home fans roll their eyes. In the Moda Center, this chant can be quite effective towards rallying the team, as the booming chorus makes the rafters tremble.